3. Josh
By two in the morning, I was cranky, exhausted, and a little thirsty. I climbed out of bed and shuffled to the sink. As I unwrapped the disposable plastic cup next to the tiny shampoos, the couple in the room next to mine mercifully went quiet. They’d been at it non-stop for the last hour, and again a few hours before that.
I was happy for them. Really. But realistically, they were going to need some lotion or something for all the friction burns.
The hotel tap water wasn’t too bad, and I guzzled down a full cup before climbing back into bed. Now that it was quiet, I should fall straight to sleep.
Except I didn’t. I’d been fooling myself if I truly thought either thirst or noise was keeping me awake. I could usually sleep anywhere and under most any circumstances. It was the girl. The one in the lobby. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Well, not until that chick walked in from the restaurant. That threw me off.
Damn Cupid department. I was never off the clock, no matter what the timecards said. Okay, to be fair, if we went by my timecard, nobody would know what was going on.
Thinking about it, my wrist itched like crazy, and I tried to scratch underneath the plastic band fixed there. Before I’d left the office, Ellen had locked a Love-Meter Deluxe on me. It looked like a fitness counter, but it had a different purpose. It vibrated when in the presence of love that had fallen off the tracks. That could mean unrequited love, love lost, love dying of neglect…anything in need of a Cupid’s attention.
When the brunette had walked in, my wrist vibrated so hard I thought my hand might come loose. I checked her out, looking for clues in her aura, but all I could see was that she was sad. Was she the reason I’d been sent on this lame assignment? Could it be that easy?
Maybe. A twinge of regret gave me pause. If I sorted out the brunette tomorrow, I could go straight home. But I’d hate to leave before getting to know the girl who’d checked me in. She was…special. I couldn’t figure out what it was about her that wouldn’t let me sleep.
I closed my eyes, and her green eyes stared back at me. Green with flecks of amber. Her eyes were smiling at me, then turned cold and looked away. Just as they had at check-in.
I was charming. I could win her over. Yeah. I’d figure out what my real assignment was, then I’d milk it so I could stay until I won the girl over enough to at least get her to go out to dinner with me.
Annie. As I drifted off, I remember her name tag said her name was Annie.
The couple next door chose that minute to start on round three for the night. It sounded like they were going to mix it up a little this time. I couldn’t hear a lot of the words, but I made out the words “bronco,” “cowgirl,” and “yeehaw.” It sure sounded like somebody in there had actual spurs on.
Sighing, I turned over and buried my head under a pillow. It was going to be a long night.
~*~
After a shower to wake myself up, I hauled my groggy, sleep-deprived self into the elevator by 6:30 AM. After the night I’d had, if I went to sleep now that the folks next door had finally taken a long break, I’d probably sleep all day. I’d never find my target if I did that.
And I wanted to be done for the day in time to come back for Annie’s evening shift.
I emerged from the elevator feeling like a zombie. A starving zombie. The menu for the restaurant had been in my room, and through the long night I’d practically memorized it.
I knew Annie wouldn’t be working. She’d checked me in almost twelve hours earlier. That would have been an impossibly long shift. I glanced at the front desk and, despite knowing she wouldn’t be there, was disappointed to see a serious-looking guy in the same black-on-black color palette everyone who worked here wore. He was spraying down the counter with cleaner and wiping with a paper towel.
He looked up when I entered the lobby and smiled. “Good morning sir. I hope you slept well last night.”
I gave him a pained smile. “I slept as well as my neighbors would let me.”
The guy’s face went pale, which was kind of hilarious, since he was already looking like he didn’t get out in the sun a whole lot. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He paused a moment, as if he was afraid of my answer. “What room are you in?”
I pulled out my key tucked inside it’s envelope holder and showed him the number written there. His paleness turned pink. “I am so sorry, sir. Let me change your room for you.”
I waved my hand at him. “That’s alright. I’m fine.”
He made a series of harrumphing sounds that were meant for a man far older than he was. “Are you joining us for breakfast?”
“I was thinking about it, yes.” My stomach was making obnoxious sounds I might have been embarrassed about if I hadn’t felt I was being held hostage.
“I’ll have a word with your server. Eat anything you like. The whole meal is paid for.”
That was nice of him, but not necessary. Mt. Olympus was already comping my meals. But if I turned him down, he’d keep me there forever. “That’s very generous. Thank you.”
As I turned to go, Annie emerged from the room in the back. I froze. “You’re still here.”
She made an attempt to smile. “I covered for a coworker.” She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. “You’re up early.”
I shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”
The side of her mouth twitched, as if she found this amusing. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Had she put me next to the sex fanatics on purpose? What did I ever do to her? Annoyed, I turned toward the restaurant. She stayed where she was, but a vision of her beautiful face came with me. Why not? I’d been haunted by it all night. I might as well take it with me to breakfast.
As I pulled open the door, her voice trailed after me. “Have a great day, Mr. Flynn.”
Somehow, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be.
~*~
After breakfast, I grabbed my portable wings and my blowgun. The regular wings were far too bulky to smuggle into the hotel or hide in my luggage. The bow and arrow were a little easier to fit in my suitcase, but I left them at the office, too, opting instead for the more portable blowgun with self-loading darts.
In order to do my job, I had to be invisible, so what I wore to work didn’t much matter. I didn’t need to impress anyone. Say what you will about cargo shorts, but the side pockets carried all my Cupid equipment without showing any extra bulk. Even the blowgun was concealed.
The wings were both genius and stupid. They were made out of wire and that slick material they made tents out of. Folded up, they were the size of large hamburger. To put them on, I untied the string and they popped open, spanning about five feet across and three feet tall. I stuffed my arms through the elastic bands, tied the string across my chest, and was no longer visible.
The gods loved their artifice and symbolism.
To put the wings away, I overlapped the two wings, then did a twisty wrist maneuver that took me three days to learn, and the wings collapsed into the hamburger shape. Then all I had to do was tie the string to keep the whole thing closed and drop it in my pocket.
Genius, but unnecessarily complex. The Muses just had to put a belt on. The Messengers put on winged sneakers. We had wings. Great big ridiculous wings. Stupid.
Loaded up with the tools of my trade, I checked my assignment. My instructions were to head to a specific address and observe what I found there. After that, I was on my own.
I headed out of the hotel and climbed into the rental car that had been waiting for me when I exited the Mt. Olympus building the day before. The bosses hadn’t exactly splurged. Folding my frame into a compact car was a challenge, but I managed. The air conditioner worked and it had a GPS, so I wasn’t complaining. I had to remind myself this trip was not exactly my reward for doing great work. It was more like detention. Might as well make the best of it, though.
The address was in a suburb about a half hour from my hotel, so I headed straight there. I didn’t want to go to somebody’s house too early and find them still sleeping. But with breakfast, a short trip up to my room for supplies, and the half-hour drive, I expected to get there around nine-ish. That should give whoever it was plenty of time to get up and around.
Maybe I’d have time to do something touristy before heading back for a nap and another shower so I could be fresh for Annie’s arrival on shift. Assuming she’d be there.
I signaled to change lanes and frowned. Maybe I should have checked to see if she was going to be at work tonight.
Dammit. I was usually sharper than that. I blamed the rodeo going on in my neighbor’s room the night before.
I pulled up to the location and checked out my assignment. The house was a modest two story in a nice neighborhood with lots of mature trees. I swung the car around the block and parked where it couldn’t be seen from the house. The next part was a little tricky. It wasn’t like I was Superman and could change in a phone booth—even if such things still existed. Going invisible had to be subtle and when no one was watching.
Unfortunately, when a grown man put on a pair of big white wings, whether the traditional feathered kind or my fancy portable ones, people noticed. Knowing this, I took them out of my pocket while I was still in the car, popped them open, and slipped into the elastic in the relative privacy of the vehicle rather than on a suburban street.
It wasn’t easy, but if two people could have sex in a car, one guy—no matter how cramped the damn rental was—could put on a pair of wings there.
Once I was invisible, I didn’t have to open the car door. I slid right through it and stepped out on the street. Sure, I looked stupid trotting down the sidewalk with my white nylon-polyester blend wings bobbing behind me, but at least nobody could see me looking stupid.
The house came into view around the corner, and I slowed to a walk. A blue Honda sat in the driveway. Hopefully, that meant somebody was home.
I strode up the steps to the porch and through the closed front door to see who my assignment was. “Let’s get you people sorted out.”
Honestly, I wasn’t in a huge hurry to fix whatever was going on. I intended to milk this free vacation for all it was worth. But if somebody was having relationship problems, a few darts should take care of it. True love might not be a thing, but the love magic in my darts was powerful stuff. It could patch up just about any disagreement. If I didn’t report it in right away, I’d have time to hit a few museums.
Maybe I could get Annie to show me around town.
I stopped dead in the kitchen doorway and felt my blood drain into my toes. The Love-Meter Deluxe vibrated hard on my wrist. Annie sat at the kitchen table, looking tired but still beautiful, both of her hands wrapped around a mug of coffee.
If Annie was my client, somebody at the office was getting their ass kicked when I got home.